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NBA Picks

Hawks/Nets Game 4 NBA Pick: Brooklyn to Level the Series at Home Tonight

The Brooklyn Nets finally got into the win column against the Atlanta Hawks to make a series of it. Can they level the series tonight as NBA odds underdogs? Here's our NBA pick.

Atlanta Hawks (2-1, 0-1 away)
The Atlanta Hawks slipped to the 91-83 defeat in Brooklyn on Saturday, a loss that marked an upset in NBA betting markets. The Hawks entered the game up 2-0 and as the odds makers' favourites on the road, matched at -145 NBA odds or thereabouts to clinch the road win and as the 2.5-point favourites as well. Tale told, they failed to come through on these expectations, despite their NBA odds even swelling further to -155 and 3.5-points at close of betting.

It's worth mentioning that we did pick the Brooklyn Nets for the upset in game 3. Mainly because the Hawks weren't playing up their perceived standard, which was set by an impressive account during the regular season, highlighted by a 60-22 SU record. The way they were faffing about in the playoffs, the Nets were bound to capitalise. And so they did.

The Hawks have only themselves to blame for the slip up. Gone is the offensive verve and swagger that lifted them to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Instead, they've been uninspiring, wholly off colour and off form. Frankly, they were rather fortunate to win the first two games of the series, and only did so by a few points. What's more, if they continue on this poor vein of form, they'll find themselves level with the Nets in this series. The Nets may be the bottom seed in the Eastern Conference, but they don't seem to have received the memo because they are playing anything but as such.

The Hawks are deemed the clear-cut faves at -185 NBA odds to win outright and the 4.5-point faves against the spread. Three games into this series. Three debatable performances by the Hawks and the odds makers haven't jumped fence yet. That's the power of being the No.1 seed in the Eastern Conference all over again. Do they deserve it? That's the question NBA bettors will have to consider carefully before they make their choice NBA picks for this pivotal game.

Brooklyn Nets 1-2, 1-0 home)
Brooklyn Nets are faced with a pivotal home game. A game that could see them turn this series on its head if they go back to Atlanta for game 5, level 2-2 in the series. Early prognosticators didn't see this coming did they.

The Nets deserve a lot of credit. They've played up to their opponents lofty standards. Some might argue even better in all three games. They've shown more fight, panache and intensity than the Hawks, proving to be the quintessential dangerous floater of the postseason.

They burst out of the gates in game 3, reeling off a whopping 31-16 lead in the first quarter and continued to build on it until the end. There was a point midway in the game when the Hawks rallied back to take the slim lead, but the Nets spurred on by Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young regained control with an impressive 18-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarter that salvaged the crucial series-saving win.

The Nets entered the playoffs on the final day of the regular season and few NBA experts and bettors held out much hope for them against the top seeded Hawks. Three games into the series. Three respectable accounts – including one win – and all and sundry are standing to attention. Odds makers haven't gone so far as to give the Nets the favourable nod in game 4 however. In this case, one win is not enough to hang a hat on apparently. But it certainly makes one think about the possibilities.

NBA Betting Verdict
The NBA betting market is in tune to the seeding of the respective teams. It's not however merited by the performance of each team. Frankly, the Hawks have been underwhelming in the NBA playoffs and they are in danger of settling on a 2-2 tie with the Nets tonight. That makes us hesistate on the Hawks for our NBA picks.

The Nets seem to have the momentum right now. They also know that in each game they've been in it, competitive and opportunistic. The first two didn't go their way but, finally, the last one did. That's a tangible too important to ignore. On the strength of all their performances put together – regular season aside, obviously – the Nets really strike an appealing pose for us on the NBA odds board. So much so, we have to go with them on our NBA picks. It's a long shot NBA pick, but we're still going for it and backing the Nets to come through as the home underdogs at +165 NBA odds and as the 4.5-point home pups.